Mr. Trump needs to stay above this public discussion while the rest of the nation attempts to discern the truth. He should wish her well and no more – absolutely no more!

I say ‘discern the truth’ because at no time in her history or in the history of the Clintons’ campaigns has the truth been shared voluntarily. It has taken DoJ Special Prosecutors, Congressional Special Committees, FBI investigations, internet investigators, Wikileaks and thousands of others to get to any truths regarding the Clintons.

They are not the “sharing” kind and force us to probe and investigate everything that they say for the real truth, if any.

On Sunday her campaign, no longer able to hide her condition, announced that she has pneumonia. This may be true but it is improbably the whole truth. Many physicians are determined that she suffers from a far more severe condition – of which pneumonia certainly may be a symptom.

I have a good friend who is a neurosurgeon whom I trust because he is a childhood friend I have known for decades and also because he is very practiced and successful in his field. He sent me the following which he tells me is a fair “arm’s length” diagnosis: Hillary Clinton's Illness Revealed

If the real truth is Parkinson’s, there are a lot more questions about the coming election than there are answers right now. If pneumonia (or even Parkinson’s) is what she has, it is not immediately life threatening. So we are spared the prospect of possibly electing a dead candidate.

However, sensing the polls turning against her (because of her condition or for other reasons), the Democratic Party may try to replace her with another. Should this become a real possibility, this presents more than a few very large problems at this stage of the election. Elections are not functions of the two parties. They are creatures of fifty state legislatures. Each state has its rules for constructing the ballot for a general election. In most states, random substitution by a party of a particular candidate who is incapacitated is possible but only before the “ballot closes.”

This is not a hyper technical timing. The ballot is finalized in most states either ninety or sixty days before the election. That finalization is a function of law and is an absolute requirement for the legitimacy of the election. It is not moveable nor is it something that can be ignored.

A state legislature may convene and change the law but that is unlikely in most cases and would almost certainly result a new D candidate being on the ballot in some states and not on the ballot in others.

While not being on the ballot in all fifty states is not a bar to election (Abraham Lincoln was elected even though his name did not appear on the ballot in the southern states). This is a handicap that no modern candidate could be expected to overcome.

So, what happens?

Illinois election law (my home state) is silent on this eventuality as far as I can find (10 ILCS 20/1). This is new stuff and has many possible struggles ahead.

First things first: We need to know what the problem is. Hillary can lie about her health no longer and we need the truth before being asked to consider her candidacy. Next question has to be: Is her condition a disqualifier for being President?

Is Parkinson’s (for example) a condition that should keep her out of the Oval Office? Some may argue that it isn’t. If it is, will Homeland Security takeover the election and move it back giving Obama and extended term and the Ds a chance to nominate someone new?

Or, will Hillary just press on while trying to keep the larger truth secret and hope for the best?

We do not know the answers to any of these questions. However, we are in new territory and we need to start the conversation soonest. To do this, we need to get the truth away from someone who is congenitally incapable of being forthcoming – a daunting task at this stage of the election.

The last time the country had a crisis like this was with the 1840 election of William Henry Harrison – Tippecanoe and Tyler too! Harrison caught pneumonia at his inauguration and died 32 days later. Vice President John Tyler assumed the office of President but it was not at all clear whether Tyler would serve the unexpired Harrison term or only until another election could be held.

The battle was partisan and titanic. Ultimately the force of will of Tyler stating that he would not vacate the presidency was finally enough to tip the argument to one side and to settle the matter – but it did precipitate mention in the 25th Constitutional Amendment to settle the matter once and for all.

"His Accidency," as he was called, was never fully accepted by his opponents.

We do not need such a crisis. Only candor and honesty afforded by Secretary Clinton can avoid this crisis. We need to keep the pressure on her to disclose.

--And for his part, Mr. Trump should go on his way talking issues and wishing her a quick recovery (only!).